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[RC] When to move up to 50's - JulienneHi Kari, My mare and I moved up to 50's late last year after doing a year and a half of novice NATRC and a year or so of LD's (with one year in between where we didn't do much at all). It sounds like you've gotten in a few years of LD and so my advice would be to go for it if it is a goal of yours. If you feel perfectly content doing 25 milers, then do what makes you and your mare happy.. don't feel pressured to move up unless it really is something you're striving for. That said, my first attempt at a 50 was an elevator ride.. I started the 25 not knowing if I was going to elevate or not. We took it mile by mile and at the end of the 25 my mare felt strong and I felt like my spirits were up and I was ready to continue on. Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn up a very long hill in the sun and I was pretty disappointed when I reached the top, ran into a top ten rider in the 50 (doh!!) and had to turn back. We finished on the loop and did about 40 or so miles and I pulled because I felt pretty tired and didn't feel up to doing that last loop. :( FYI - my mare doesn't get stellar vet scores either. A's or B's and her gut sounds (our arch nemesis) have even ventured into the C's at times. This has improved with spirulina and Fastrack supplementation. Our second attempt was a success. I learned quite a bit from our 'pull', most importantly, confidence in my mare that she could do the distance (40+ miles was the longest we've ever gone!) in good form and shape. :) It gave me that little extra confidence boost I needed to know that we were going to do this next ride and we did finish (in record turtle time). I took it mile by mile, listened to the vets, and my horse. We had a great time and her vet scores were in the A's and B's all day. I hope this helps! :) Julienne &Isabella (off to SASO tomorrow, woohooo!) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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